Transaction volume declined seven percent on a quarter-to-quarter basis. Meanwhile, deal value in Q1 2013 decreased 53 percent over Q4 2012, from $15.8 billion to $7.4 billion. There was one software transaction above the $1 billion threshold, compared to three such deals in Q1 2012.

The top ten largest transactions accounted for 41 percent of the industry's aggregate value in Q1 2013, compared to 60 percent in Q1 2012. Each of the ten highest value software deals in Q1 2013 was completed by a strategic acquirer. Cisco made one of the industry's largest deals in the quarter, acquiring Intucell for $475 million. Aside from its $5 billion acquisition of NDS Group in Q1 2012, this was Cisco's largest Software Industry transaction since it acquired Starent Networks for $2.4 billion in Q4 2009.

The Niche Software segment, which is targeted to specific vertical industries, underwent a six percent decrease in Q1 2013. Finance and healthcare transactions in the segment represented five of the top ten highest value software deals in Q1 2013. As for the finance vertical, SAP made a move in the insurance market with its acquisition of Camilion. Oracle, one of SAP's main rivals, acquired Skywire and AdminServer in the Insurance subsector back in 2008. Oracle has a history of making acquisitions to enter new verticals, as demonstrated by its Q4 2012 acquisition of DataRaker in the Energy sector.

The segment that experienced the largest quarterly gain in volume was Consumer Software, which increased 28 percent over the past three months. At the same time, M&A in the Business Software segment remained nearly constant with 66 transactions. After rising 65 percent between Q3 2012 and Q4 2012, deal activity in the Infrastructure Software segment fell 45 percent in Q1 2013.

In addition, there were several industry deals completed by notable acquirers that focused on voice recognition technology. This included Amazon.com's acquisition of Ivona Software and Google's acquisition of DNNresearch.

"Cloud computing and the ability to leverage big data in the cloud is driving M&A activity," said James Berkery, Chief Information Officer at Berkery Noyes. "There were several first quarter deals highlighting this trend, including Rackspace's acquisition of ObjectRocket and Actian's announced merger with Pervasive Software." Berkery continued, "Information technology providers are also looking for software solutions to help make sense of semi-structured and unstructured data. IBM's recent acquisitions of Star Analytics and StoredIQ, as well as Dell's acquisition of Kitenga in Q4 2012, are just a few relevant examples."

Berkery Noyes is an independent investment banking advisory firm servicing the information industry. The firm specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory, debt and equity financing, and financial consulting services for companies in the $10 million to $500 million range. Since its founding by Joseph W. Berkery in 1983, Berkery Noyes has worked with corporate clients to grow through acquisition, divest non-core assets, and maximize shareholder returns through strategic transactions and restructurings. For private owners, Berkery Noyes helps create liquidity and execute timely exit strategies that achieve their personal and professional objectives. The firm's research teams publish acquisition activity in the respective sectors they follow on MandAsoft.com.